How to cosplay with glasses!
It’s an issue that every cosplayer who needs glasses…struggles with. You want to perfect that character look. You’re all about cosplay accuracy. You have everything put together. The only problem is…you wear glasses and your character doesn’t! You don’t want to ruin the look of your cosplay by needing to wear glasses. What can you possibly do? That’s what we’ll discuss today!
In this post, I’ll go through 10 tips on how to cosplay with glasses. These tips will help you cosplay if you need to wear glasses regularly and be able to still look amazing in cosplay, in spite of that need.
Note that these are just cosplay-related tips and not anything optometry-related. Please consult with your optometrist first before trying out any of these techniques, as your health and safety always comes first before dressing up as a fictional character.
With that out of the way, let’s get started!
1. Wear contacts
Not everyone will have this option because of their health situation with their eyes. But being able to wear contacts will easily solve the problem, as you won’t need to wear glasses while cosplaying. So if you alternate between wearing glasses and wearing contacts, then when it’s time to cosplay for a convention, then put on your contacts instead!
2. But can you cosplay without contacts?
Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to cosplay with contacts. It’s more of a preference for those who want that extra effect. In fact, there are many ways to cosplay without contacts, including cosplaying characters who already wear glasses and taking off your glasses only for photos.
Okay this is kind of a cop-out! But I felt it’s important to include this as a tip for you guys that think contacts are required for cosplaying, especially if you wear glasses.
But let’s go into more tips on how to cosplay with glasses.
3. Find characters who also wear glasses
Fortunately, there are many characters in the fictional world that also wear glasses like you do! This is a perfect opportunity for you to cosplay that character and show awesome you look with the glasses on.
Here’s a sample list of characters who wear glasses:
- Futaba
- Alucard from Hellsing
- Hange Zoë from Attack on Titan
- Bayonetta
- Mey-rin from Black Butler
- Maes Hughes from Fullmetal Alchemist
- Kabuto from Naruto
- Homura from Madoka Magica
- Sir Nighteye from My Hero Academia
- Hyuuga from Kuruko No Baske
- Kyoya from Ouran Host Club
- Lucca from Chrono Trigger
- Rize from Tokyo Ghoul
- Ugly Betty
- Sailor Mercury (when not transformed)
- Murai Kuriyama from Beyond The Boundary
- Shino from Sword Art Online
- Nina from Code Geass
- Auron from Final Fantasy X
As you can see, there are TONS of characters worth cosplaying that wear glasses that you can dress up as. So no need to ditch the glasses or the need to wear contacts. Just cosplay a character who also wears glasses and you’re good!
4. Wear your glasses over the wig so your wig doesn’t fly up
One advantage of wearing glasses is that it helps you hold your wig in place! Yes indeed. If you wear your glasses over the wig, you’ll find that it will hold that wig in place.
With that said, if you need to do the Animu hairstyle and need to put the bangs in front of the wig, then do so when someone asks for your photo. I myself have worn wigs and glasses and it’s not fun if the wig hair is front of your glasses! So make sure you only do this if you’re just taking photos.
5. Hiding your glasses with characters who wear masks or helmets
When it comes to cosplay, another option is to pick characters who either wear a face mask or a helmet. That way, you can hide your real glasses underneath the mask or helmet. With a mask, it’ll be a little more difficult to conceal, but it can be done by just putting the same coloring as the mask.
Here’s a sample list of characters you can cosplay with masks and helmets:
- The Juggernaut
- Batman
- Tobi
- Scarlet Witch
- Cat Woman
- Joker (Persona 5)
- Darth Vader
- Cat Woman
- Ririka
- Makomo
- Celty
If you decide to cosplay some of these characters, it’ll be easier to cosplay with glasses on. And you won’t “ruin” the character look while doing so!
6. Wear your glasses normally, take them off for photos
I’ve seen a lot of cosplayers with glasses do this and it’s a great strategy to keep your eye vision intact while also looking good for the camera.
So what you do is just wear your glasses normally while you’re walking around the convention and if someone asks you for a photo, you can take your glasses off for the photo. And when everyone is done taking your cosplay photo, you can put your glasses back on. It’s that easy!
The nice thing about taking a photo is that you don’t need to move around that much. So it makes things a lot easier for you.
7. Be sure to take lots of breaks when needed!
Let’s face it, wearing a cosplay can be difficult and uncomfortable. And if you have to wear glasses, even more so. Think about having to balance your costume, your wig AND your glasses. That is a tough job, especially if it fogs up often. And for some people, having to wear glasses for a long period of time can be tiring in itself.
So be sure to sit down and take a break when needed. Give yourself time to adjust and fix your cosplay, or clean out your glasses. Because when you’re walking around at a cosplay convention with glasses on, it can definitely be challenging! So give yourself a break and take it easy when needed.
8. It’s okay to apologize or ask for help if you can’t see!
If you’re taking off your glasses to pose for a cosplay photo, chances are you’re going to have a hard time seeing while taking the photo! So ask the photographer if you’re posing the right way (or how they want you to pose). And you can ask them when it’s okay to put your glasses back on.
9. Get a well-fitted mask. Your glasses will fog up!
If you need to wear a mask during a convention, keep in mind that if you get a loose fitting one, chances are that your glasses will fog up! So try to get one that fits nicely on your face to prevent the air from blowing up to your glasses. Worst case scenario; bring something to wipe your glasses to prepare yourself if or when this happens.
10. Where to store your glasses while cosplaying
When it comes time to take off your glasses to pose for a photo or sitting down for a break, you’ll need a place to put and store your glasses. Here are a few ideas on where to put your glasses in those moments:
- In a bag? While putting your glasses straight in your backpack or cosplay bag can definitely work, I don’t think it’s the best option. Your bag can be full of other things, so it can be hard to find your glasses if you need to rummage through it, especially if you can’t see! On top of that, you might have heavier stuff that could damage or crush your glasses.
- In your pocket? If your cosplay conveniently has pockets, then you place your glasses inside them. Your pockets have limited space, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to take them out when you need them. But do be careful when sitting down, because you don’t want to awkwardly land and potentially damage your glasses that way.
- In a hard case shell! This is the best option for storing your glasses in my opinion. Putting them inside a hard case shell is the best way to protect your glasses. So if you happen to drop the case or it gets smothered inside your bag, the case will protect your glasses.
Summary
To summarize, here are the 10 tips on how to cosplay with glasses:
- Wear contacts
- But can you cosplay without contacts?
- Find characters who also wear glasses
- Wear your glasses over the wig so your wig doesn’t fly up
- Hiding your glasses with characters who wear masks or helmets
- Wear your glasses normally, take them off for photos
- Be sure to take lots of breaks when needed!
- It’s okay to apologize or ask for help if you can’t see!
- Get a well-fitted mask. Your glasses will fog up!
- Where to store your glasses while cosplaying
And there you have it; 10 tips on how to cosplay with glasses!
Have you had any problems or issues cosplaying with glasses? Or do you have any advice you’d want to share with other readers of the blog? If so, leave them in the comments below!
My name is Roger Senpai. I’m a cosplayer that’s been in the community for well over a decade now. I’ve traveled all over the world to Anime and Comic conventions and hosted my own cosplay events. Now I’m writing articles for new and experienced cosplayers like you to help inspire, save you money and improve your cosplays!
